Can some of you who follow cinema more closely than I do say how long before the release of a film it is common for the film to rated and for the running length to be announced publicly? Does anyone recall how long before the release of the LOTR films, particularly FOTR, it was known? 'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

We've already had a couple of threads where people have made guesses or estimates at how long it will be. What I am asking for is different; information about when we are likely to actually know the answer. 'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

First of all, thanks for looking. However, that reported running length of 2 hours and 43 minutes is quite a bit shorter than the actual running length. So I guess we probably have quite a bit of time before we get any solid information. So what it tells us is that as of the beginning of November, we are still not likely to know the answer!

Still hoping for information about when official running lengths were announced. 'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The reasoning behind it (probably wrong though), is that 'The Dark Knight Rises' (a Warner Bros picture), was released on the 20th of July. It's running time was announced on July 3rd - so 18 days before release.

Thus, using simple maths, from 14th December going back 18 days gives you: Monday, 28th November (as a rough estimate).

If I'm right with my guess, can I get a free premiere ticket to 'The Hobbit'?

That's good information. However, it is also true that the world premier of the first film will be on November 28, so we will certainly know by that date if not before! Actually, since November 28 in New Zealand where the premiere will be is actually November 27 here on the west coast of the U.S., we should know before 11/28!!

Maybe it will be 18 days before the world premiere, and we will know by November 10. 'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

I realized after the fact that my original response to you might have seemed a little rude. That wasn't my intention. I just wanted to make it clear that I wasn't looking for another "how long to do you think the movie will be?" thread. For the record, my expectation is about the same as yours, although I am somewhat concerned about the reports that it will be 2 hours. 'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

One one would think that they would have to know how long the film is to put tickets on sale, wouldn't they? 'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'